Late Summer Transplanting-Leap of Faith? Or?

ghues

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Late Summer Transplanting - Leap of Faith?

Being around here for a while, I'll give some background and thoughts to provide you a better understanding of my methods and goals.

Leap of faith.....maybe ...but not so much.......if favourable conditions arise...especially when it comes to yamadori collecting and their first "repotting" (transplanting). Much trial and error over the last 15 years has provided me some much treasured guidance on how I can keep my collection in a healthy state. Much of this knowledge has also come through decades of experience from my local bonsai friends, who have gladly shared their techniques/treatments.....which interestingly enough, have changed over time.
So, when it comes to the classic "repotting" I've stuck to spring which for us is March-April...(sorry Vance no Mugo's in the collection.... yet).
However when it comes to what I'll label as transplanting - taking a yamadori from its first recovery home (grow pot and/or grow bed) to its first training pot.....I often do it in late summer IF conditions are favourable.
These are; that the tree is very healthy, (top and root growth) the weather (and forecast) is favourable, I have the pot and soil components.
Note. The majority of my tree collection is yamadori (from; the wild, urban, transportation corridors, landscape and abandoned farmland).
The one I'll describe here is a Mountain Hemlock (Mtn Hemi) collected in the late summer of 2013 so it's just completed its third growing season in captivity.
After collecting the entire rootball (no removal of any original soil - a thick matted duff/forest floor/humus layer overtop of a sandy loam) went into a wooden training pot (used 6" cedar fencing boards) with a 1/4" screen on the bottom, the bottom of the "box" had a layer of coarser pumice, red Lava and SeaSoil, a layer of medium sized mix, then the root ball and a top dressing of the mix.
Tree went through some shock in 2014 with a small amount of growth but the last two years it grew really well. Recently our summer heat period has come to and end (hot for this neck of woods even breaking a few daily highs lol) so this years growth had hardened off and a cool moist system(s) was forecasted to last for the next two weeks.
Observations have shown that after the summer heat they start another period of root activity building up its reserves for next years growth.
So my general strategy is, #1 survival -check, #2 good health-check, #3 transplant -check, #4 survival/growth and then #5 "design". I don't fret about a final design at this stage as I'll be looking at it for a long while (possibly 2 more years) trying to figure that out. Like many my Mtn Hemi's this one has long twisted snakelike branches (almost tentacles).
Of course I haven't down this every year but this season seems to be very favourable.......Anyone else out there doing something similar?
Here are a couple of shots of the tree in its grow box and the training pot.
 

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ghues

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Next set of photos show the amazing amount of fine roots (very active - note the red root tips), remnants of the duff layer (complete with small shrubs) and it potted up. Note the last remaining duff layer complete with plants was removed-(came out like one of my "fairway golf shots" a large beaver pelt)last photo.
 

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ghues

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A couple more photos-different angles. The rock and guy wires have been and/are used to spread and hold the branches apart to allow maximum light into the interior of each major branch.
Cheers Graham
 

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0soyoung

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@ghues,
If I am reading this correctly, you've removed duff and etc from the entire surface of the original root 'ball', but the 'core' of original soil is still there - right? When, if ever, do you eliminate this 'core'?
 

ghues

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@ghues,
If I am reading this correctly, you've removed duff and etc from the entire surface of the original root 'ball', but the 'core' of original soil is still there - right? When, if ever, do you eliminate this 'core'?
Hi Osoyoung,
Yes I did remove shrub plants which were still intertwined in the duff layer for about 2" but underneath this the main duff layer was very decayed and crumbling almost falling apart, only some larger red chunks remain and some finer organic matter. At this point the root mass below the original duff (what in forestry is called a MOR humus layer) is really thick and vigorous, whereas the original lower humus layer has almost broken up completey and has an large amount of roots. Like @wireme - with the red chunks I often find in the forest floor layer, I break the red chunks down and add them as part of my "bark components" in my soil mixes for my Mtn Hemi's.
 

wireme

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Hi Osoyoung,
Yes I did remove shrub plants which were still intertwined in the duff layer for about 2" but underneath this the main duff layer was very decayed and crumbling almost falling apart, only some larger red chunks remain and some finer organic matter. At this point the root mass below the original duff (what in forestry is called a MOR humus layer) is really thick and vigorous, whereas the original lower humus layer has almost broken up completey and has an large amount of roots. Like @wireme - with the red chunks I often find in the forest floor layer, I break the red chunks down and add them as part of my "bark components" in my soil mixes for my Mtn Hemi's.

Over the last three years or so I've been using less of that stuff.. And more pumice. I was happier with health, vigour and growth before, go figure. Lots of variables, I'm not drawing any conclusions yet, more years, more repots and maybe I'll feel like I can form an opinion better.
Trees seemed happy in granite and redrot though.,,
Summer transplants, I've only done 2, a small yamadori spruce and a nursery scotch pine. They both still live 2 years later.
I've planted a few hundred thousand hotlift trees back in the day though, does that count?
 
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ghues

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Over the last three years or so I've been using less of that stuff.. And more pumice. I was happier with health, vigour and growth before, go figure. Lots of variables, I'm not drawing any conclusions yet, more years, more repots and maybe I'll feel like I can form an opinion better.
Trees seemed happy in granite and redrot though.,,
Summer transplants, I've only done 2, a small yamadori spruce and a nursery scotch pine. They both still live 2 years later.
I've planted a few hundred thousand hotlift trees back in the day though, does that count?
@Osoyoung and @wireme
I think I need to clarify........the white mineral in the photo's of the tree in the wooden box is pumice....That is a base component of my soil mix, but it's not the main ingredient at that stage.....only two components (not including coarser layer on bottom) after collection I only use Seasoil and pumice(maybe 7/3). In the transplant stage (either spring or late summer) I break the red chunks using a 1/4-3/8 screen as I do with some of the forest floor especially if it's full of mycorrhizae, add pumice and Seasoil (this can be seen in post 2/3).
As you can see from the first and second photo in post #2 of the root mass, the 7/3 Seasoil/pumice mix really works for hemlocks (and also Shore pine & Sitka Spruce).
With trees in training pots or refinement stages, my mix is more like 7/3 pumice/Seasoil........ when I've used a mix with a much higher ratio of pumice the leaf colour isn't the blue/green I get with pumice and a good dose of the Seasoil(the 7/3).
Sure one can use 100 % pumice and then add organic fertilizer.....but why do that when I can have that organic fertilizer right in the mix with "SeaSoil".
Off topic somewhat......
As you know wireme......one was told never to plant those seedlings in redrot but the Hemi's roots penetrate it like crazy. Speaking of those "hotlifts", when I started in the forest industry in the mid 70's, spring planting here on the coast was the only option.......but during the heavy snow years the planting was pushed back to June in higher elevations with some very poor survival when summer heat came on early after planting....so then as we experimented with summer and late summer.....we soon realized that late summer planting was also a very viable option, this gives the tree a great advantage......a root egress in the late summer and again in the spring before the tree flushed out.....after examining 100's of summer and late summer trials it really made sence to me ..........so when I retired last year we were planting as much in late summer as we were in the spring (side note - over the 40 years I supervised over 40 million seedlings.....approx. 40% being late summer).
So I took that concept and applied it to my bonsai....thus the transplanting in late summer concept........last few days have seen somewhat cooler/warm (used loosely......that term applies for us here) temperatures with lots of rain which I believe is ideal for this concept.
Cheers Graham
 
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defra

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thnx for this explaination !!

If i get it right my chance of succes with a smal young juniper gold is good
I potted it up in a pond basket past saturday to Let it grow a healthy root mass and develop the branches

as after care i placed it out of the sun and nog exposure of winds so it doesnt evaporate to Much and i mist it at least three times a Day

in live in the netherlands different climate zone but its still warm and Rainy

anny idea How long it takes to see If it is gonna survive and what signs to look out for ?
 

ghues

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thnx for this explaination !!

If i get it right my chance of succes with a smal young juniper gold is good
I potted it up in a pond basket past saturday to Let it grow a healthy root mass and develop the branches

as after care i placed it out of the sun and nog exposure of winds so it doesnt evaporate to Much and i mist it at least three times a Day

in live in the netherlands different climate zone but its still warm and Rainy

anny idea How long it takes to see If it is gonna survive and what signs to look out for ?

Our climates might not be that different? The 50th here.......maybe you get a longer period of really cold periods?
Your tree should grow roots this fall.....The trick is not to do any root work......it's basically a slip potting. It should flush out as normal next spring. Good luck.
 

aml1014

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I just did a test repot yesterday on the smaller of my 2 afghan pines. I did go pretty hard on it but these things seem pretty Damn vigorous. I shall see how it does lol

Aaron
 

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Nice post - I'm about to lightly repot a shimp and WP. Let us know how it does. I still have like 45 days of growing time so It's ez for me to do it. In cold Canada i'd be worried all the time!
 

defra

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Our climates might not be that different? The 50th here.......maybe you get a longer period of really cold periods?
Your tree should grow roots this fall.....The trick is not to do any root work......it's basically a slip potting. It should flush out as normal next spring. Good luck.

winters here are long indeed temperatures up to -12 celcius i experienced some years
but past years have been good with almosth no frost only at night and freezing wind all the time from like end of oktober until Early march in the Night temperatures below 0 celcius

i did almost no root pruning It came Out a round pot so roots were going in circles alle i did was cut the longest roots and take out mosth of the dried out dirt
below the base i left some of the old ground

ill post a update to Let know if It survived
 

ghues

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Nice post - I'm about to lightly repot a shimp and WP. Let us know how it does. I still have like 45 days of growing time so It's ez for me to do it. In cold Canada i'd be worried all the time!
@Giga, not all of the great white north is "cold"......here on the west coast, it's a temperate rain forest climate, relatively cool summers (hey we broke some high temps in August 33 Celsius lol) and mild winters (with occasional periods of cold freezing weather)....gotta love the colour green and webbed toes help with the amount of rain we get about 60".....for further reference on our climate see; .https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell_River,_British_Columbia
 
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Wilson

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I definitely agree that transplants and repots can be done in a similar schedule. I have collected scots, spruce, and generally most conifers in late summer, and all seems good.
I can only imagine some of the wild stories you have after 40 years of BC planting! A childhood friend of mine is a "high baller" out there in the planting scene. He is also a film maker, he has shot some pretty cool footage in the backcountry.
 

ghues

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Thanks Wilson. I have done some spring collection but the majority of my yamadori in the last decade have been collected fron mid August to early October ...went collecting yesterday....1200m plus....at that level it has been close to freezing already so trees have hardened off and setting up for winter....now at sea level they will have about 6-7 weeks before we get a frost.
Cheers
 

defra

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this is the little one i was talking about
its a juniperus media gold
also did put some root hormone powder with the frist water i gave

im curious how long it will take to know if the repot was a succes looking good so far!
 

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defra

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not sure if its in The safe zone already but my juniper is still green so im guessing that it will be ok

did a full repot into a pond basket with root prune and raked it out 6 weeks ago now !
 

ghues

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this is the little one i was talking about
its a juniperus media gold
also did put some root hormone powder with the frist water i gave

im curious how long it will take to know if the repot was a succes looking good so far!
Defra,
That's the fun part...experimenting to see what works. During my late summer transplanting (slip potting) I try not to do any major root work.....Earlier in my journey I did and killed some really nice trees. With my smaller plants I bury them into my veggie garden for winter protection....you will have to consider doing something similar as your trees will be a lot more sensitive know that you've done that type of work.....live and learn...good luck.
 

defra

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yeah wouldnt dare to do this With older trees tough in spring this tree is in the advantage since it is already repotted so one step ahead from the others :(

i figured it needs some extra care this winter i tought of putting it in a bigger pot filled up With good draining soil but digging in the garden could be done too gonna be my frist bonsai winter lol
hope ill do well!
 
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